We both unbuckle and remove the tarp, grabbing a handful of spears before pushing past the sea kelp.
My eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness, only to come face to face with Sade.
“Well,” she drawls, tilting her head to the side, her loose orange braids tied in a knot that hangs over her shoulder. A trident nearly as large as our mother’s is gripped in one hand, and my stomach completely bottoms out when she points it at me, her face serious. “You have some explaining to do, Sister.”
Chapter Seventy-Five: Aria
“Fuck.”Lyre’stalonsgrowfrom the ends of her fingers, prompting me to do the same as my stupid magic blooms at the back of my throat. Sade appears to be alone, Lyre and I could attack her at the same time. But even as the thought enters my head, logic crushes it. Sade is thegeneralof the Queen’s Legion. Where Allegra’s strength comes from her willingness to be as ruthless as possible, Sade’s has been crafted and honed fordecades. War may have never been fought in our lifetimes, butlooking at Sade, you’d never know. From top to bottom, she is built for battle.
“It appears we have a Malika family special,” Sade muses, an eyebrow lifting at the loot in her arms. “Though I’m afraid I will have to add a few guests to the mix.” I look over my shoulder as the sea kelp parts to reveal two legionaries dressed in full armor, both with their spears. Deep yellow eyes meet mine, and pressure builds behind my eyes.
“Hello,” the yellow-eyed siren taunts.
“Again,” the other adds. It’s the two legionaries that were guarding the arsenal.
My gaze meets Lyre’s, and I almost scream at the defeat I see waiting in her eyes. We were set up from the very beginning. Somehow, Sadeknew, and if she does, then so does the queen. My panic is a tangible thing, wrapping its rough hands around my lungs as my desperation tightens its fingers. Lyre’s plan to raise her offspring, to live a life free of our mother, is gone now. Both of our lives now forfeit in the wake of this betrayal to our mother.
My eyes burn as the two sirens flank us, Sade’s voice battling against the hum of magic that buzzes in my ears. “We have a lot to talk about—”
A legionary reaches to grab Lyre, the other wrapping her hand around me, and something within me snaps as an angry growl unleashes itself from my throat. “Stop!” I shout, my power infusing the command as my chest heaves and I jerk myself away from the legionary closest to me. I drop all but one of the spears, gripping it tightly even though I have no idea how to wield it properly, certainly not enough against these three trained females. But, surely I can buy enough time for Lyre to escape. “Lyre, go!” I yell, my voice a fraction calmer as I spin to take aim at the legionary holding her.
Except, when my attention falls to the yellow-eyed siren, she isn’t taking aim at Lyre or me. She isn’t even gripping my sister anymore. Instead, the siren is motionless. Unmoving.
“Aria…” Lyre whispers, her eyes blown wide as her mouth hangs open. I turn my own gaze back to the siren that flanked my side, only to find her frozen too, her body beginning to sink to the bottom of the cave. My brows crease in confusion, but my focus on the legionaries is abandoned when Sade moves closer.
“Don’t hurt Lyre,” I plead, holding the spear out in front of me as I block Lyre from Sade’s view. “She didn’t choose this; I forced her into helping me. Mother doesn’t have to know—”
“Aria, stop,” she says roughly, halting my panicked rambling. My expression falls, this nightmare truly coming to life right in front of me. Sade lowers her trident, her defensive stance completely melting away. It’s not like she needs it facing me. Who am I but a weak—
Who are you willing to become? I stare at Sade, my heartbeat loud in my ears and magic pulsing at my throat as I abandon the spear.Anyone Lyre needs me to be.
My fingers curl, talons gleaming from their ends as my brows lower and I face my sister head on.
“No,” Sade warns, pointing at me. “Don’t you dar—”
I don’t give her the chance to finish before I rush towards her. Most of my lessons with Myla have been building the basics and focusing on defending myself. We hadn’t gone over how to properly attack an opponent, how to spot their weaknesses and exploit them as Myla so easily did with me. Without any of those skills—gods, likely evenwiththem—I am not going to beat my older sister. But I’m not looking for victory; I’m looking to give Lyre a chance to escape. And while I have no real plan other than toattack, there is enough desperation flaring to life within me to, at the very least, make me a fucking nuisance.
The first swipe of my claws is met by Sade’s trident, and I spin out of the way to avoid her incoming attack. Only it never comes. I don’t allow myself to question why before I move back in, my biceps bulging and fingers flexed as I claw at her face. Her chest is protected by the armor, so when she blocks me again, I move lower, talons connecting with the scales of her tail. Pride surges through me when I manage to snag a few, pulling them from the softer flesh.
“Ow,” Sade growls, her knuckles growing white from gripping her trident.
The cry that leaves me is filled with raw turmoil, my magic thrumming along with it. Sade’s brows rise towards her hairline, and this time when my arm descends in an arc towards her face, she catches my wrist and spins me around, pinning it behind me. Her other arm is quick to band around my chest, and before I can open my mouth, her hand clamps over it, silencing me.
“Aria, stop!” The plea doesn’t come from Sade but from Lyre. My focus shifts as she swims towards me, her hands framing my face. My muffled cries beg for her to get away as I struggle against Sade, but Lyre leans her forehead onto mine. “It’s alright. It’s going to be okay.”
My body crumples in on itself as I sob, my failure crushing my chest.
“Everyone needs to calm thefuckdown.” Sade’s voice rumbles down my back, making me stiffen. “We don’t have a lot of time, and I need to make sure we are all on the same page before we leave this cave.”
What?
“Aria, I’m going to let you go under the assumption that youaren’tgoing to use your magic on me.”
Why would I…Lyre’s hands fall away from my face as she watches me, concern bright in her amethyst eyes.Oh gods. My magic… I look at both legionaries, their unmoving bodies nowlaying on the ocean floor. But that is impossible. Siren magic doesn’t work on other sirens, and I hadn’t—Stop.I had shouted the command at both, had felt the magic rushing up my throat—
“Aria, will you use your magic?” Sade asks, halting my spiraling thoughts. I shake my head, blinking away the remaining pressure behind my eyes as she releases me from her hold, feeling slowly returning to the hand that was pinned behind me.
The three of us watch as the magic—mymagic—begins to wear off the legionaries, their fingers wiggling followed by their tails, until they are slowly swimming back up to us from the cave floor, their expressions disoriented as they look from Sade and then to me.
